Separated Journeys
by artistclaw
Summary: Midnight, Moonrise and Dawn never happened. Firestar never went to revive SkyClan. The forest ThunderClan calls home is slowly being destroyed by Twolegs. An ominous prophecy is sent, but it's up to one cat to decide the future of his Clan. Rewrite/AU of The New Prophecy. Warriors belongs to Erin Hunter, I take no rights to it.
1. Prologue

**AN; **This is my second story I'll be working on! This is basically an AU re-write of Midnight, Moonrise and Dawn. I do hope you enjoy it so far, reviews, follows and favourites are always appreciated!

**Prologue**

A dark brown tabby tasted the air. His deep amber eyes shared a resemblance to a long gone foe. A tang of mouse hit his tongue, sparking a light of happiness in his gaze. He had found himself deep into the forest of ThunderClan's territory, alone. It was a day with few clouds in the sky, merely creating a rough shadow upon the territory. The leaves on the trees above rustled in the wind.

Often noises like this would calm one, but they just sent him into a more alert position. He whipped his head back, prepared to leap at whatever was there. His eye caught the sight of a mouse under a small berry bush. The berries the bush bore were bright red in appearance. The tabby tom gulped. He knew what they were, and they were not something he would like to run into.

The mouse was still there, and its beady eyes were looking upon a leaf in a tree. The warrior steadied his posture, and got ready to leap. He dropped into the hunter's crouch, and before long, sprinted up towards the prey. With a splash of satisfaction, he killed the mouse with a bite.

Out of nowhere, a sharp fog started to fill the forest around him. He flicked his ears back, startled by the sudden appearance. He turned around, and came face to face with a very familiar she-cat. Her glossy bluish grey pelt bore the unforgettable starlight any other StarClan cat would.

"Bluestar? What are you doing here?" He questioned. Bluestar's head dipped. She obviously knew something he did not.

"Brambleclaw, I have an important message for you. Listen carefully." Brambleclaw had never heard of a StarClan cat of such importance coming to speak to a normal warrior in a dream. _Maybe I am special._ He grinned at the thought he could have something to do with an important message, or even, prophecy.

"Darkness, Air Water and Sky will come together and shake the forest to its roots. Nothing will be as it is now, nor as it has been before." Her ominous tone seemed to almost bounce off a mysterious wall. Brambleclaw shuddered. Of course, he didn't know what to expect from a cat with such respect. The blood running through his body felt cold and fast. Adrenaline pumped throughout his veins. Bluestar stood in front of him, her expression calm, however demanding.

"What do you mean?" Brambleclaw stuttered. His emotions felt like they would roll him down a hill of doom.

"All will be revealed soon." Bluestar left an uneasy feeling in the air. Her features showed a more stern look now, which frightened Brambleclaw into obeying the past ThunderClan leader.

"But listen here. You must meet with three other cats at the full moon to listen to what midnight has to tell you." With that, Bluestar looked down at her paws. Brambleclaw felt strangely uncomfortable.

"Are you sure you've got the right cat?" He muttered. "I'm only a warrior; not even one of slight importance! I can't be trusted with something like this-" By the time the brown tabby had finished his sentence, Bluestar had vanished. There was no trace of her anywhere in the clearing. The mist had fanned out too. It was back to being the same old ThunderClan territory.

A squeak startled Brambleclaw. He was surprised to see the same mouse still sitting in the bush. Its eyes were still focused on the tree.

_It's almost as if time had just stopped,_ Brambleclaw noted. Uneasiness spanned the clearing. He stalked through the trees, keeping an eye out for anyone who was around.

A shove to his side pushed Brambleclaw to the ground. His eyes darted around; but he failed to see what had pushed him over. Another soft prod to the side had stopped Brambleclaw in his tracks.

Suddenly, dawn light came flooding in to his eyes. He saw a thick-furred grey cat stand above him, with a half-concerned, half-amused expression on his face.

"You were shuffling around in your sleep," He said. Brambleclaw fully opened his eyes and realised the cat above him was Graystripe.

_It was just a silly dream!_ Brambleclaw felt relieved that he wouldn't have to carry the weight of a prophecy upon his back. Summoning his strength, he pushed his paws to the ground and stood up. The warriors den was the same as always, slightly crowded, but still very much like home. Brackenfur and Cloudtail were settled across the other side of a den, still peacefully sleeping.

"The dawn patrol will be heading out soon," Graystripe said.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

* * *

The sun started to slide out from beneath the treetops when the flame-pelted leader of ThunderClan woke up. He stretched his ginger paws out in front of him. The sky was a beautiful orange, with hints of violet and pink. Fluffy clouds painted the sky with an elegant, yet calming feeling. With a huff, Firestar lifted his body off the ground. He glanced around his den, the place he called home. Realising he could wait a bit until the dawn patrol was sent out, Firestar carefully sat down upon the nest he had created the day before. It was filled with moss, and had bits of bracken sticking out the edges.

Firestar's ears pricked forward as he heard the upcoming of pawsteps. He envisioned a kit, scrambling up the highrock, or a set of warriors and their apprentices, getting ready for the dawn patrol. The sound gradually got closer, and he saw that it was in fact the ThunderClan deputy who came to visit him.

"Greetings, Whitestorm." His older friend stepped inside the den, and stood in front of Firestar.

"Hello, Firestar," He meowed. "How's the morning been so far? No mice come to bother you in your sleep?" Firestar let out a _mrrow _of laughter, and signalled with his tail for Whitestorm to come sit next to him.

Firestar's memories of the snow coloured tom came to mind. He remembered the great battle against Tigerstar and the ruthless BloodClan. Whitestorm had become badly injured, but the help of Cinderpelt and her herbs had healed him quite well. The horrific sights of his friend bleeding out onto the grass had scared him into retreating ThunderClan from the battle. A shocked but devilish expression spread on his enemy's face, something Firestar would never forget. He ran alongside his friend Graystripe, all the way back to the safe grounds of the camp.

Firestar reflected on his actions those few moons ago. His doubts that he was a good leader started to swell up in his paws.

"Do you think it was right for me to retreat ThunderClan while fighting Scourge?" He noticed Whitestorm shuffle his paws on the ground. _What have I done?_ Firestar worriedly swished his tail.

"I can't say it was best for the Clans-" Firestar thought about the countless cats that had gone to join StarClan that night. He _knew _that if ThunderClan had stayed, many of the Clan cats would not have died. "But it was best for _ThunderClan_. You put your Clan before yourself, and you thought about what would be best for us." The slight reassurance Whitestorm gave to him calmed Firestar down. His thoughts still buried him in a pit of questioning.

"What would you have done?" Firestar inquired. It did not take long for the ginger tom to receive an answer.

"Firestar, what's happened has happened. What I would have done is irrelevant. You need to have faith in your decisions." He could sense the white warrior's encouragement. He seemed to know what to do all the time.

"I wish I could just go back in time and change what I did," Firestar thought carefully about what he said. Of course, it was impossible to go back in time.

"You can't go back in time. If you had stayed, how many ThunderClan lives would have been lost? How many lives would you have lost?" The question seemed to slam Firestar in the throat. He still had all of his nine lives intact; however, he would not mind risking a life for his Clanmates.

"None, because I retreated the Clan."

"You're missing the point."

"It was selfish of me."

Whitestorm sighed. Firestar awkwardly shuffled his paws against the dirt floor of the den.

"I think it's time to take the dawn patrol out," The deputy announced. "Would you like to come?" Firestar nodded his head, hoping a patrol around the territory could help clear his mind. Whitestorm stood up, and trotted out of the den. Firestar followed his friend, and for the first time that day, he witnessed the beautiful sounds and sights of the camp. He saw Brambleclaw, Graystripe and Brackenfur at the entrance of the warriors den. They quietly chatted, most likely sharing news of the biggest catch yesterday.

"Come on guys, we're heading out on a patrol." Firestar overheard the snowy white cat announce. He was glad that he chose the faithful tom as the deputy all those moons ago. He always knew what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. Whitestorm kept the kits entertained when they got into mischief, and although he was one of the older cats of the Clan, his young side shone through.

Meows of agreement could be heard from across the camp. Whitestorm lead them up to the gorse tunnel, which spilled out into the forest, which was part of ThunderClan's territory. The group of cats treaded along the grassy floor, silently observing their surroundings.

"Brambleclaw, the fur on your back is sticking up!" Graystripe stifled a laugh in reply to Brackenfur's comment. Brambleclaw stopped to check the brown striped fur on his back. Sure enough, it was sticking up in all sorts of directions. He gave it an embarrassed lick, and playfully cuffed Brackenfur over the ear.

"Thanks for telling me, mouse-brain. I wouldn't want to look like a fool while walking around the forest!" Brackenfur let out a _mrrow_ of laughter.

"You're lucky you didn't scare the prey off with that horrendous fur!"

"You'll be scaring _all_ the prey off if you keep speaking so loudly!" Firestar was glad to see his Clanmates having fun. Times were not the best for ThunderClan, so he was glad they were happy.

"Can you scent anything?" Whitestorm reminded the patrol of their task. Brambleclaw was the first to part open his mouth, and he nodded his head when the scent of mouse hit his scent glands.

"There's a mouse nearby," He said. Sure enough, a small bush near a tall tree rustled. Brambleclaw dropped into a crouch, and set his amber eyes upon the bush. The mouse was a brownish grey colour. It stuck its head out of the leaves, and froze as its eyes made contact with the large tabby. Brambleclaw stalked forward, under the pressure of his Clanmates watching. The blades of grass underfoot crushed down as he prepared to leap.

A few seconds later, Brambleclaw sat up, with the prey in his mouth. Firestar could see the proud expression gleaming on his face. His features still had the unforgettable look of Tigerstar, his father who was killed in the battle, but now it was present with something much more memorable, Brambleclaw.

The five cats returned from the patrol with multiple pieces of prey to add to the fresh-kill pile. Brackenfur had caught a finch, Graystripe had found two shrews, Brambleclaw had caught a mouse and a squirrel, and Whitestorm had returned with a plump squirrel too. The camp was the same as always. Firestar spotted Mousefur along with Spiderpaw, the black and brown apprentice. The pair of cats were practicing training moves. Each swipe and pounce Spiderpaw reflected were stunningly fast; enough to swiftly fly past an enemy and daze them.

Firestar followed Graystripe to the fresh-kill pile. Fortunately, it was already full with prey. The patrol added their catches to the pile, and then went off to share tongues. Firestar was uncertain whether he should follow the cats of the patrol or go off to his den. With a quick lick of his chest fur, the noble leader decided to head towards his den. His stomach rumbled, sending a notice to choose a piece of prey to eat.

* * *

Nightfall had begun, and the sky, which held Silverpelt, gleamed stronger than ever. Firestar gazed up at the sky. The full moon stood out more than any single star. _The full moon! _Firestar scrambled to his paws. With the busy day of patrolling and sleeping, he had completely forgot about the gathering. He made a swift leap out of the den, and turned his paws towards the warrior's den.

"Whitestorm, Graystripe, Brackenfur, Mousefur, Sandstorm, Sootfur and Thornclaw, you're coming to the gathering." Firestar did not have time to answer the half-asleep and confused looks he received from his Clanmates. He rushed off towards the apprentices den, and called out the names of Shrewpaw, Spiderpaw, Squirrelpaw, Whitepaw and Sorrelpaw. The apprentices happily jumped out of the den, excited to attend the gathering.

Leafpaw alerted Cinderpelt of the commotion in the clearing, and she guided her mentor out towards the group.

"Everyone here?" A cluster of nods and 'yes' from the group answered his inquiry. Firestar flicked his tail tip, signalling for his Clanmates to follow. They made their way out of the gorse tunnel, into the vast territory ahead.

By the time the ThunderClan representatives arrived at Fourtrees, the cats of the other Clans seemed ready to start. Firestar leaped through the bushes and trees surrounding the sacred meeting place. He paced towards the great rock, and made a swift jump to the top. Leopardstar, Tallstar and Blackstar sat impatiently.

"Good, you're here. Now let's start." Blackstar stood up and adressed the four Clans with a single yowl.

"Cats of all Clans! Welcome to the gathering. I'll start with the news I have about ShadowClan." Russetfur sat upright at the foot of the boulder, and stared up at her leader.

"A while ago…" Firestar zoned out, not listening to the news presented. Instead, his thoughts persisted at a one point. He was still anxious about the battle. The scene was quite clear; bodies lay spread out along the grass, blood and tears mixed into the soil. He imagined Scourge, standing defiantly as he watched the destruction of the Clans. A cat with a fire coloured pelt stood at the edge of the clearing, horrified at what had become of the cats he knew. He snapped the words he would regret for a long time.

"ThunderClan, retreat!" he felt a violent shove to his side. He envisioned the tom pursuing the enemy who had shoved him. Teeth bared; claws out.

"Firestar!" The familiar snap of Leopardstar drew the leader back to reality. "Are you going to share news about ThunderClan?" Her voice was demanding, almost if there was an underlying threat. He embarrassingly gave a lick to his chest fur, to avoid the glares thrown at him.

Maintaining formality, Firestar sat up straight and delivered news about his Clan. "ThunderClan is thriving. We have found plenty of prey, which will keep us strong for Greenleaf. A fox was located near the edge of ThunderClan territory this past moon, but our warriors chased it off." Firestar ended the speech with a dip of his head.

"Then that concludes the gathering, may StarClan light your paths." Firestar leaped off the great rock, and started to gather his Clan. They said their goodbyes to other friends, and made their way back to the camp.

Quiet chatter revolved around the group as they entered the camp. The moon was placed high in the sky; it was well past midnight. The warriors and apprentices separated and made their ways to the respective den. Firestar proudly gazed upon his Clan. It was Clan members's dreams to one-day take leadership of their beloved Clan. A dream that took plenty of skill and talent to grasp. And the ginger tabby has fortunately acquired that position. Dainty pawsteps touched the ground behind Firestar.

"You should get some sleep," A voice sounded. Sandstorm waltzed up to her mate, and wrapped her tail around his.

"You're right," Firestar replied. "I just-"

Sandstorm blinked. "You just what?"

Firestar contemplated telling Sandstorm about the hurtful visions he kept seeing. Each one, reminding him of the great battle that took place, and how he risked the lives of other Clan's warriors for his Clan's safety. He anticipated how she would react, scared, worried, and angry, all of those were things he didn't want to see. A cool breeze swished through their pelts.

"It doesn't matter," he said, very matter-of-factly.


	3. Chapter 2

The moon had finished one and a half cycles as Brambleclaw stepped out of the camp. His paws felt heavy below him, almost as if there were weights attached to them. Mentally, there were. He had not told anyone about the dream. During the last gathering, Brambleclaw noticed an unusual grouping of four cats. Stormfur, Feathertail, Crowpaw and Tawnypelt were near the edge of the clearing, discussing something that seemed important. Brambleclaw padded up, but with a flick of his sister's tail, he realised that outsiders were not welcome.

Throughout the gathering, Brambleclaw felt an anxious pull at his stomach. It was odd to see those cats together, but he couldn't think any more of it.

Brambleclaw sighed. It was obvious to him that bottling up his thoughts was a mouse-brained idea, but he knew of no one he could confide in. Squirrelpaw came to his mind. The clingy and annoying apprentice always seemed to want to pick a fight with someone. She always complained when put on patrol with Brambleclaw, or anyone else she disliked. Although Brambleclaw knew it wasn't worthy of a warrior to join in a quarrel, her strong language and disapproval of him was hard to ignore.

Tawnypelt would have been an obvious choice, but she was a ShadowClan warrior; it would be highly suspicious to see a ThunderClan tom sneak off to meet a ShadowClan she-cat. Moreover, it was clear that Tawnypelt did not want to speak to him.

That left the tabby tom in a pit of despair. He had no idea who he could talk to. His Clanmates were settled in camp behind him, and to his surprise, Firestar was busy checking in on all of them. It wasn't something he usually did, but it was a kind thought. Brambleclaw entered back into the camp, feeling slightly calmer. Firestar must've sensed that he had done so, because he padded up to his former apprentice.

"Would you like to join a patrol?" He asked, a slight edge to his mew. Brambleclaw nodded, hoping it would help him take his mind off the dream.

"Alright. I'll go gather the rest of the cats I had in mind." The flame coloured leader pranced off, towards the secluded warriors den. It lay under a small bush, just big enough to shelter the Clan's warriors. He saw Snowhawk, Mousefur and Thornclaw exit the den at Firestar's heels.

Brambleclaw's mind flittered to Snowhawk. The white ThunderClan warrior had suffered a rough past, especially as a kit. When he was only a few moons old, a hawk had snatched him and tried to fly away. He remembered being distraught at the fact he might lose his friend. However luckily enough, he had managed to scramble free out of the vicious beast. A faint memory of Speckletail hauling the snow-white tom back into camp came to mind.

Most of the Clan knew he was deaf; however, they were unsure if he knew. Brambleclaw felt pity for him, not being able to hear the sounds of the world. Some warriors even speculated that he might as well move to the elders den. Speckletail fought against this. She was convinced her son would become a warrior; no matter his condition. In the end, she was right. Snowhawk proved that he could do his duties as a warrior. He may not have been the best hunter as an apprentice, but he still passed his assessment.

The four cats collected at the tunnel, carefully built out of gorse and surrounded by brambles. It held up quite well during the harshest seasons.

"Let's head off," Firestar announced. "I'd like to patrol around Treecutplace and Twolegplace."

The patrol did as they were told, and followed their leader to the destinations.

* * *

It appeared to have had rained overnight, as the bushes and grass were wet to the touch. Brambleclaw tensed as a low rumbling sound cut throughout the forest. It wasn't unusual to hear a sound as such, but this one shared no qualities the others had. It was louder, more fierce, and had a sickly underlying threat. He whipped around; making sure it wasn't a pack of dogs or some trespassing cats. Fortunately, neither were to be scented or seen. It sounded again, sending a chill down his spine. Mousefur, Snowhawk, Thornclaw and Firestar stood impatiently ahead of him.

"Did you hear that?" Brambleclaw meowed. Snowhawk dipped his head, as if to signal that he didn't understand. _Of course_, Brambleclaw remembered. The others looked at him in confusion. Brambleclaw gazed, confusion glinting in his eyes too.

"Hear what?" Firestar asked. Brambleclaw was equally, if not more confused than his friends. He couldn't start to describe what he heard. His mind raced to tell him it was just his mind playing tricks on him. He perked his ears up, hoping to pick up a trace of the rumble. Nothing.

"It must've been my ears playing tricks on me," He replied, and finished with an awkward smile. The patrol continued on, making their way to the edge of Twolegplace. Brambleclaw noticed Firestar become skittish near the edge of the Twoleg nests. He wondered the leader had been sneaking off to see his sister.

The sun had reached the highest point in the sky as the patrol finished checking across the Twolegplace border. Brambleclaw recalled Firestar explicitly pointing out his old Twoleg nest, where he used to live as a kittypet. It seemed empty, nothing like the items that usually cluttered the sides of the nests. Even the leader picked up the small detail. His eyes carried a homesick look, but he knew far too well firestar was a loyal leader, and would never leave his Clan to become a kittypet once again.

Brambleclaw brushed up against Mousefur, the pale brown she-cat giving an awkward glance at the tom. He hurried forward, eager to be first to look out at the Treecutplace. His amber eyes contrasted with Firestar's deep, forest green eyes. The young warrior burst forward, and let out a gasp in return to what she saw.

Four huge yellow monsters were actively tearing at the surrounding foliage. Trees came crashing down onto the earthy ground. They seemed to drop like flies against the power of the monsters.

Brambleclaw stopped abruptly, and cast himself to the ground. He flicked his tail across the grass, an order for his Clanmates to do the same.

"What are they doing?" Thornclaw whispered. His mew was barely loud enough to hear over the howling of the monsters. Suddenly, a low rumbling caught Brambleclaw's attention.

"That's the sound I heard before! I wasn't imagining it," He stated. "It's the monsters over there. They're tearing down all the plants across the Thunderpath." Firestar stood up, and motioned forward with his tail. Brambleclaw followed him, weary of what he was doing. One step too close and they could be crow-food.

"They're ought to start removing the trees around the forest too," Mousefur pointed out. "In the next moon, I bet they'd be into our territory." The words she spoke sent an eerie chill around the group. Snowhawk looked around, clearly unsure what to do. His ocean-blue eyes shimmered in the sunlight. They were the only happy thing there.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Feel free to leave reviews below ^^ **

**Question of the week: Who would you like to see me include in this story? It can be a StarClan cat, living cat, cat not yet born, or one from the Tribe!**

**Have a good day!**

**\- Artist**


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